Friday, August 23, 2013

1. Coupon queen. I’m not talking about me… I’m talking about John. Recently, The Krazy Coupon Lady made her way into his heart, and since then, he has dedicated an entire FOLDER- yes, a folder, to his coupons he prints out. Now, I gotta hand it to crazy-with-a-k. Her coupons rock. In fact, once I saw John save over double what he spent, I knew he was on to something. However, I don’t have the patience, cutting skills, or brains to coupon like John. It involves a lot of strategy, and I think that’s probably why he’s addicted. Thankfully, he’s using his newfound skills for good- he’s donating his close-to-free highlighters he got at Walgreens to a school supply drive. Aw! I recommend you guys check out this site- if you take the time to read how the site works, Krazy Lady has the rest all figured out. Only problem? The only grocery store in Clemson that the Krazy Coupon Lady caters to is Publix. Thank goodness that one is a mere two minutes from my apartment!

2. Oatmeal. Guys. Oatmeal has been my jam for a couple weeks now. Before Michigan, I was eating oatmeal because it's super-filling, and it's low on sodium, so there's no chance of belly-bloat from it (had to look decent in vacation pics, ya know?). Since then, I’ve been on somewhat of a kick. The best part? You can add a dash of sugar to make it like a dessert if you want to, and it is just begging to have fruit mixed in!

Blueberries, peaches, cinnamon sugar, oh my!

3. Getting Settled In. I’m a huge fan of my new apartment. It’s older than my apartment from last year, but the pros certainly outweigh the cons. It doesn’t have a pool, but I never used that pool anyways. This apartment has a back porch with a little yard, and the layout is perfect. Downstairs, there’s a pretty roomy storage closet, a half bathroom for guests, a laundry closet, a living area with enough space that it can also function as a breakfast nook, and a kitchen with tons of cabinet space. Upstairs, each of us has our own bedroom and bathroom, and I’m pretty happy about the spacious closet I didn’t have last year! Best of all, I get along with my cousin and roommate, Adam, really well, and he’s super neat and tidy, which has encouraged me to be the same way! Once I'm all settled into my room, I'll take a few pictures!

Here I am with the rooms and my brother, both of whom were NOT so thrilled to take this picture at the football practice we went to tonight!

4. Lilly lovin’. This Monday marked the beginning of Lilly Pulitzer’s annual Endless Summer Sale. If you’re not a Lilly fanatic like I am, just picture a sale with deals so crazy, the number of people trying to access the sale when it starts at 8 am (ish) crashes the website! I have more than enough Lilly gear, but there was one dress I just had to have. Thankfully, I waited out the dreaded-yet-inevitable hour-and-a-half-long process of the site freezing, working, finding what I wanted, getting excited, not being able to pick out a dress size, the site crashing, the site working again, getting my correct dress size in the cart, the site crashing, the site working, and finally… I succeeded in my purchase!

"Oh shift!" At least Lilly Pulitzer was clever with their broken-site message. (Side note: I spy several Lilly things already...)

Each time the site crashed, it said to check their Facebook page for updates, so I did that to kill time. If you want to see a bunch of middle-aged, upper-middle-class women get their panties in a wad, just stand in their way between them and a $35 “You Gotta Regatta” printed scarf. It was pretty funny reading all the snide comments by Lilly-lovers, because yeah, it was frustrating that the site wasn’t working, but if that’s your biggest first world problem, you’re pretty darn lucky! I turned out to be super lucky, because I got the Clemson-themed dress I was coveting for over 70% off, and it (along with a cute white shirt I ordered) came only two days after I placed my order!!! I was shocked, because I had heard that shipping could take several weeks with their big sale! I highly recommend everyone take advantage of the Lilly Pulitzer Endless Summer Sale next year!

Clemson colors? Check. Comfy cotton maxi? Check. Ability to wear the top five different ways? Check.

5. Fresh meat. A new year at Clemson means this transfer student is no longer one of the newest kids on campus- yay for freshmen! This is really exciting to me, because my baby brother is now officially, after years of dreaming, a Tiger! I’m so excited for him, and I’m so happy that I get to be here to support him and watch him in this next chapter of his life!

Corey and his roommate/ best friend since second grade, Peter, on move-in day! Since then, they've really settled in, and their dorm is adorable (in a manly way, of course!).

Seriously, how awesome is this 'Merica/ fly-fishing themed desk area?! Oh, and I think my brother is craftier than I am- he made that bald eagle/ American flag canvas!

Friday, August 16, 2013

That in a week, I'll have finished my first days of classes. Eek! Thankfully, no Friday classes this semester, so holla! (And I didn't even have to try for that- it just happened! Double score!) Classes starting means I'll be back at Clemson, and being back at Clemson means I won't be at home any more (I'm gonna miss you so much, Mom and Dad!), and not being at home any more means no more summer. :(

Now, don't get me wrong: I love school. Growing up, I was the nerdy girl who eagerly awaited finding out my class schedule, picking out my pencil box, and of course, putting together the ever-so-important first day outfit, which usually turned out something like this:

Yikes... John likes to point out that my ankles look snappable here.

First day of sixth grade, y'all! Yes, I still had cowlick-ridden straight-across bangs, yes, my outfit was from Limited Too, yes, those are slide-on tennis shoes, and yes, I somehow still managed to have friends...

I digress. The point is, although I'm sad summer is coming to a screeching halt and I won't be living at home, I'm also beyond excited to start a whole new year at Clemson! Corey will be there too, College GameDay is coming to our first home game against Georgia, I'm looking forward to my first trip to the bars downtown (yay, 21!), and I have a fabulous class schedule! Hey, that whole no-Friday-classes thing will make it easier to write these:

Five on Friday! Courtesy of Christina of Carolina Charm, Darci of The Good Life, April of A. Liz Adventures, and Natasha of Hello! Happiness

I think I wrote enough about my past week (or two, I guess) in my MI recap post yesterday, so I won't bore you with even more. However, I am dying to show off this freshly-crafted addition to my new apartment:

Ta-da!

How cute is this Lilly Pulitzer print canvas I made with my mom Wednesday night?! I was hunting for ideas on how to use my old Lilly agenda pages, and this seemed like the perfect way to show some state pride and recycle at the same time!

Wanna know how I made it? Easy. All I needed: Lilly Pulitzer printed paper from outdated agendas, Mod Podge, a sponge brush, a 12 x 12" canvas, a cut out map of my home state, and some scissors! Thankfully, my mom was there to perfect the edges (I suck at cutting), and she did the tedious job of cutting the little 1.5-ish inch strips to make the border, which was also her idea! Crafty Kathy!

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Last week, I got to spend time with some of my favorite people on Earth. My parents, my brother, his sweet girlfriend, John, my grandparents, my role model and older cousin Jana, her cool and welcoming husband Brian, and this precious baby girl:

Charlotte, Brian and Jana's darling daughter, is hands down the cutest baby in the universe. I mean, come on. Look at that face! I took this picture on my phone after she woke up from a nap. Jana and Brian went out to celebrate their fourth anniversary one night, which meant I got to spend one-on-one time with this pretty thang! Her personality is even cuter than her looks, and I loved seeing her! It's amazing how much she's grown since I saw her at the beginning of June!

Instead of bore you with long ramblings of how awesome this trip was, how about some pictures?

After two short flights and a layover, John and I made it to Torch Lake! We then went to my grandparent's village, Elk Rapids, for Harbor Days- an annual fair I loved as a kid! Obviously, I was on cloud nine seeing Jana, and it made it even better once the rest of my fam arrived, marking the end of their 15 hour car ride up north!

Our first attempt at a family picture in my grandparent's backyard didn't go so well... Corey was a liiiittle preoccupied with fishing...

On our way to Mackinac Island! To get there, you have to take a ferry- no cars or anything with an engine allowed on the island!

The kids just stand and look pretty while my dad pays for the bikes :)

My mom's birthday wish? For her family to all take a trip to Michigan and bike around Mackinac Island... Mission accomplished!

It doesn't take a long time to bike around the 8 mile island, so we took plenty of stops to enjoy the scenic views on the shore.

Another Mackinac must? Fudge-sampling! When the six fudge-vendors on the island have multiple shops each, why buy a whole piece at one place?! You can sample enough at each shop to satiate your sweet tooth!

Sibling bonding: Corey actually clipped us together with something on his shorts or back pack... Can't ya tell I'm happy about it?!

Surf's up! John was super impressive at wake-surfing!

I, on the other hand, struggled just to get up and hold on, even with our awesome captain (thanks, Brian!).

Yay for local farmers markets and fresh fruits and veggies!

It doesn't get much better than this. I had some cherry wine while I was up north and oh my gosh. So sweet and so good.

Can we stay forever? Look at that view of the beautiful Torch Lake!

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I am so thankful that I am with a guy who loves spending time with my family. Whether he's helping move a ridiculously heavy rock into the lake or learning how to play Euchre (which we both surprisingly liked!), he is always positive, and I love that about him! Thanks, John!

I love these people with all my heart!

Can you now understand why I want to go back so badly? The pictures also can't explain how perfect our weather was! 70 degrees is my favorite, and we had mid-seventies all week, with only a little bit of rain! For someone who was sick and tired of South Carolina's monsoon weather, this was a welcome change!

I have to add that although I don't have any pictures of my grandparents, I loved spending quality time with them. I also don't have pictures of my cousin Josh, his awesome wife Melissa, and their adorable sons, who John and I visited on our way back to the airport. They introduced us to Papa Murphey's pizza, and Fort Mill just opened one this week! Can you say fate?! I'm sensing a lot of deLite pizzas in my future...

As much as I miss Michigan, I am excited about my next adventure: my "junior" year (technically fourth year, but hey, that's what I get for taking so long to pick a major) at Clemson!

Friday, August 2, 2013

That’s right folks; the last (and best!) day of the work week is upon us, and that means…. Five on Friday!

Cue the cute blogging linkup courtesy of Christina of Carolina Charm, Darci of The Good Life, April of A. Liz Adventures, and Natasha of Hello! Happiness

1. Kohls. After getting several gift cards to the store for my birthday (thanks Grandpa, Grandma, and Aunt Judy!), I felt a hole burning in my pocket. With their scratch-off 15/20/30% off coupons, constant sales, and ridiculously marked up original prices, that store really knows how to getcha! However, I love that I can buy nice workout gear on sale and get a crock-pot in the same trip! In fact, that's exactly what I did! I've already gotten great use out of all three pairs of dri-FIT capris (great alternative to the Norts I've been rocking to the gym every day- especially for yoga!). As for the crock-pot, it will certainly get lots of use in a few weeks, when I go back to Clemson. These are just a few of the recipes I've pinned onto my "Actually Make This Food" board. To get to the recipe and the source of the image, just click on the pictures.

Shell noodles plus cheese always equals a win in my book! As soon as it gets a little chilly outside, I'm making this minestrone.

You better believe I'll be making this soon! Irish oats are super yummy, and I feel like a dollop of Cool Whip would transform this from breakfast to dessert!

My mom stumbled upon Jane's Potato Soup in her Paula Deen magazine, and it's been a family favorite ever since. We even had some of this hot, creamy goodness this summer!

2. Christmas in July. On Wednesday, the girls and I celebrated the most wonderful time of the year... Except seven months late (or five months early!). We baked my family's sacred roll-out, cut-out Christmas cookies, watched feel-good Christmas flicks, and drank hot chocolate (with mini marshmallows, of course!) with lunch. The whole day was a lot more work than popping some Pillsbury Break n Bakes on a baking sheet in the oven, but the girls' happiness made it totally worth it (okay, you caught me- the delicious cookies helped, too).

My happy little elves :) Shout-out to my sweet mama for taking this picture and taking the time to get to know my favorite ten year olds!

3. "Blackfish". When John and I went to see "The Way Way Back", I mentioned that we went to an obscure theater. That means the previews we saw weren't for the next Jen Aniston/ Adam Sandler movie (man, I hope that never happens again). My favorite preview was for "Blackfish"- a riveting documentary about orcas, or "killer whales". Tilikum, Sea World's star orca, made the "killer whale" thing quite literal. He's killed three people- something orcas in the wild have never done. The movie explores the death of several Sea World trainers. Although these deaths were first just blamed on trainers' mistakes, the director of "Blackfish" unveils that there may be more to the story. I. Must. See. This. Movie. Which means I'll probably have to come back to Charlotte to see it at the Manor Twin when it comes August 23.

Even the film poster is intimidating and a little creepy!

4. Friend time! If you were a girl scout, or just loved camp fire songs, you may remember the little ditty "Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver, and the other's gold." I really lived by this tune this week, seeing close friends for the first time in over a year (!), and spending time with newer friends.
The beginning of this week was jam-packed with reunions for me! Two of my dearest guy-friends growing up, Seth and Luke, and my first college roommate, Madison, came over Tuesday night. It was fun to catch up and hear about their exciting adventures since the last time we'd seen each other. Luke went to Kenya, and Seth and Madison studied abroad in Spain (and still read my blog- they rock!), so we definitely weren't short of conversation topics! If we didn't have work early the next morning, we could have easily chatted the night away!

You know what they say: Friends that plant trees as their senior project together, stay together. Seth, Madison ,and I beautify our town.

The next day, I caught up with fellow Tiger and, again, a good friend growing up, Laura. We had dinner and saw "The Heat", starring Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy, and it was hilarious. There were several doubled-over laughing moments, and if you can handle McCarthy's potty mouth (kind of necessary for her crazy character), I totally recommend it.

Not wanting to forget about the "new friends" part of the song, John and I went out with a couple of his intern friends. When I say couple, I mean an actual dating-couple. Mitch and Alyse both worked with John, and last night, we joined them at Dandelions, a cool tapas bar is Charlotte. I'd never really done rounds of tapas, AKA just a fancy word for foods made in portions meant to share, but it was a neat experience. While I'm not one to eat lamb lollipops or fancy sliders (burgers aren't my thing), I did try a lot of new foods, and it was a unique and refreshing night out.

5. Family time! Last week, my family and I ate dinner all together twice in a row, which may be our summer record! With Corey going fly-fishing in Boone on the weekends, me going to cycling classes after work, and my parents' busy schedule, it's been rare for us to sit down at the table at one time and share a meal.

Let me be the first to say that this image, while not mine, does not do this taco cornbread casserole ANY justice. It's scrumptious, and our whole family liked it, which is probably a bigger feat than actually getting us all at the same table at the same time....

Thankfully, we'll get plenty of family time very soon! Tomorrow, my family, John, and Morgan are all going to Michigan! Yay! I am beyond excited to see my grandparents, uncle, and cousins, all while soaking up the sun on the prettiest lake in the world (I'm a little biased, but Lake Michigan's clear waters are hard to beat!).